Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) warned House Republicans not to hold the debt ceiling for political leverage Friday, contradicting Republicans who have strongly hinted at their plans to do just that.

"They’ve got to find, in the House, a totally new strategy,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “Everybody’s now talking about, ‘Oh, here comes the debt ceiling.’ I think that’s, frankly, a dead loser. Because in the end, you know it’s gonna happen. The whole national financial system is going to come in to Washington and on television, and say: ‘Oh my God, this will be a gigantic heart attack, the entire economy of the world will collapse. You guys will be held responsible.’ And they’ll cave."